Best Decking Buying Guide

Weathered Wood

It’s not wood, so it shouldn’t be expanding and contracting due to temperature changes, right? Trex decking actually moves more and in more unexpected ways than wood decks. Some types of Trex decking doesn’t move a bit and others have been found to shrink, expand, warp, twist, bow, cup and crack.

Fading issues are unpredictable and hard to understand. Some Trex decking will have problems and others of the same type will not. This leads us to believe variables in the manufacturing process makes fading worse or better depending on what’s done at the factory. The deck boards look exactly the same, but don’t always perform the same when in the field. Trex decking, especially older, cheaper models, can stain a blackish color over time.

Trex Composite Decking Company Information

• This unique combination makes composite decks expensive than other types of decking material.
• A combination of organic and synthetic materials captures the best of both worlds creating a durable product that is similar to wood decking.
• Ensure that your contractor has experience with composite materials.
• Make sure that you are comfortable with you decision before you commit to using this relatively new product.
• When composites came out they were touted as never staining, never needing maintenance, and never fading.

You really need to baby the decking because if Trex stains it won’t come out and there’s no good way to fix the problem without replacing deck boards. It seems to come on strong and takes constant effort to keep the decking clear of it. Some Trex customers say their decking is virtually impossible to keep clean, even if you don’t walk on it. Cleaning with a soft bristle brush and warm soapy water per the cleaning instructions and waiting for it to dry still doesn’t clean it.

Decking

Composite decking has become very popular over the past two decades. These decks are constructed of a synthetic wood material that has become popularized as a maintenance free alternative to wood. This all sounded great in the early 2000's but as the years have past it has been found that they are not maintenance free and can actually have more issues than traditional wood decks. The leading manufacturer, Trex has been involved in multiple class action lawsuits as well. The consequence to you as the composite deck owner is that the nice, tight, wood-like joints in your deck when it was installed in July may be wide, unsightly gaps in February.

“As my dogs walked across the deck, it left paw prints, which I immediately tried to sweep and then simply hose off, without success. So the only way to keep the deck clean is to scrub it with warm soapy water every time it gets dirt on it. My old wooden deck was painted and lasted 30 years. I could just go out and sweep most of the dirt off and hose most everything else. The only time I needed to scrub anything was when I’d spill something greasy.” Says Marnie of Corning, CA. How mold and mildew get a foothold is well understood.

Typically if you install Trex decking on a 45 degree angle you need 12″ o.c. Setting the gaps for your deck boards is a tricky issue. Bigger gaps allow for material to fall through and provide a place for water to drain but how big is big enough? This is where Trex hidden deck fasteners come into play. They not only look great because you don’t see the screws but they also set each gap perfectly. Just install the fasteners and deck boards, your gaps will all be perfect.

Composite Decking Brands

ormal use of the deck wears off the protective plastic coating that surrounds the wood particles in the composite, leaving them exposed to mold and mildew. They look like composites, but these boards are actually 99 percent virgin PVC plastic, very different stuff from the polyethylene-wood mix found in most composites. Run-of-the-mill boards start at $4 per square foot, while the premium products that closely resemble tropical wood run up to $7.20 per square foot. VEKADECK is the best deck board in the entire vinyl decking industry.

But to paint the whole category as bad is absolutely false. There are bad brands of products in every building material category…doesn’t mean the whole category is junk.

From premium hardwoods to treated lumber, like high-end IPE, traditional wood offers no capping or surface protection against mold or moisture damage. In fact, when hardwoods start to get moldy it's difficult to effectively clean the deck boards and remove the attached spores. We are literally having a contractor come in 2 days to tear out our existing wood deck, and we were going to install Trex. Thanks to all who posted, because we are going to go with a redwood deck instead. Even if Trex has completely fixed their problems with the decking, I will not help their bottom line when Trex treats customers so cavalierly and badly. All other composite decks seem to have some problems also .

And, since plastic does not expand and contract evenly, those gaps may still be there the following July. There is not a lot that can be done about it – it's the nature of the material. Composites may look like wood but they are not wood, and they don't act like wood. So, don't expect a perfectly convincing wood-like appearance. All materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. Wood expands and contracts but very little along the length of the board.

A ranch, raised ranch, or contemporary house style can work well with many deck designs. It's more challenging to make a deck work with older styles, such as Tudor, colonial, or 1920s bungalow.

And while their customer service and warranty department could be better, they do offer a good warranty which will protect you if major defects occur. Skimp on any of these 3 issues and you could have problems down the road. Trex has absolutely had problems in the past but their constantly trying to improve and perfect their decking products. With each failure they’ve learned a lesson and improved the product.

In addition, Elevations joists are now available in one-foot increment lengths, requiring fewer materials overall. Elevations also comes with a 25-year limited residential warranty, making it a smart investment. Trex products should not be ripped to reduce thickness, but can be ripped to reduce width. As long as the board can still be installed per the installation instructions, the warranty will be valid. Please use care when fastening ripped boards, as pre-drilling may be necessary. Beyond that, Trex offers a variety of high-performance railing choices to meet different levels of style, performance and affordability.